Squirt
by Ailibhe
Summary: Shawn has to take care of his daughter after her mother is killed. short, sweet, and to the point,lolRated T just to be sure.
1. Chapter 1

Six-year-old Rosie was lying on her stomach in the floor of her bedroom drawing a picture that her Mommy said she'd hang on the refrigerator. She was quietly humming to herself as she did so, swinging her legs back and forth.

Suddenly, she heard the apartment door fly open and slam closed.

"Elaine! Why do I not see supper on the table?!" came the yelling of Rosie's drunken step-father Ricky.

"I-I just got home from another shift at the diner…I-I haven't had time to cook anything yet-"came Rosie's mother's soft-spoken reply. Then came the sound of Ricky's palm coming in contact with Elaine's cheek.

A tear trickled down Rosie's face. She hated nights like this.

Then, more yelling. Rosie decided to go out. She usually did this when Ricky came home drunk. She would go out on the fire escape and think.

She usually thought about her father. She had never met him. She'd always try to picture what he was like. He was handsome, smart and willing to do anything for his little girl. Just the opposite of Ricky. She knew he was probably some bum who was in and out of prison. But a girl's gotta dream right?

Rosie was yanked from her daydream by a really loud thud. She hurried back inside to see what had happened. She entered the living room to find her mother on the floor, unconscious, and bleeding from the head. From the blood on the corner of the coffee table, Rosie guessed that was where she'd hit her head.

She looked at Ricky with her puppy dog eyes, which were filling with tears. Ricky looked scared and didn't say a word.

Suddenly, he grabbed her arms so tight it hurt and made her look him in the eyes.

"You will never tell ANYONE that I did this, do you hear me?" He said shaking.

Rosie nodded her head, her face now wet with tears.

As if to make his point clearer, he hit her in the face, sending her to the floor. He quickly exited the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

After he left, Rosie got up off the floor and reached for the phone. She pressed several buttons then placed the receiver to her ear, still sobbed.

"911 Emergency" the woman at the other end of the line said sweetly.

"M-my mommy is unconscious….an-and there is blood everywhere."

"What happened honey?" the lady asked.

"My s-stepfather pushed her down and she hit her head on the corner of the coffee table." She had intended to tell the truth from the beginning. After all, her fingers had been crossed when she'd said she'd lie for him. Rosie told the woman the address and she reassured her that someone would be there soon.

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Shawn sat in the psych office playing with a bouncy ball, when the phone rang. He let it ring several times, then realized that Gus was at work and couldn't answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"I am calling for a Mr. Shawn Spencer, is he available?"

"Speaking" Shawn said, mimicking her very serious tone.

"My name is Lisa Hawthorne, with the Department of Children and Families, and I am calling on behalf of Rosie Schmidt."

"With all due respect ma'am, what does this kid have to do with me?" Shawn asked, smelling a potential case.

"Her mother, Elaine Schmidt, formerly Elaine Carter, passed away yesterday morning." Shawn recognized the name immediately. Elaine, Shawn and Gus were the three musketeers in school. Inevitably, she and Shawn realized they were in love with each other. But then, she disappeared. They never heard from her again.

Suddenly, it clicked.

"Mr. Spencer…Rosie is-"

"My daughter" Shawn finished. He could barely breathe. He knew what she wanted. There was no way he was ready to take care of a kid.

"Mr. Spencer are you there?"

"y-yeah"

"We need to arrange for Rosie to be flown down to Santa Barbara. When can you be ready for her?"

"Whoa, slow down! Look, believe me I would really like to get to know this kid, but I can barely take care of myself. I-."

"Mr. Spencer, we prefer to place children with their natural parents whenever possible. So, I'm going to give you until tomorrow to decide whether you are ready for this responsibility." She began to hang up the phone

"Wait" Shawn said, curious as well as scared "Tell me about her.."

"Of course, Mr. Spencer," She smiled. She had him now. "She has light brown hair, huge brown eyes, and a cute little nose. She is very small. She's a very sharp little girl, too. Observant and smart. Very quiet and shy, too."

_That sounds like me…minus the quiet and shy part_ Shawn thought_ I can't let her down like my dad did me._

"I've changed my mind" Shawn said "I want Rosie"

"Are you sure Mr. Spencer?"

"Yeah…..I am"

"Alright Mr. Spencer, I'll put Rosie on a plane to Santa Barbara on Thursday"

"That's fine"

"Wonderful. Have a nice day Mr. Spencer"

"Bye" and he hung up the phone with a click.

Just then, Gus entered the office.  
"Hey Shawn"

"Gus…promise me you won't laugh"

A/N- Tell me what you guys think!


	2. Chapter 2

Gus didn't laugh (after he was sure Shawn wasn't kidding).

"There is no way you are ready for this, Shawn!" Gus said

"Don't you think I know that? It's been stuck in my head ever since I got the news." Shawn said. "Look, Gus, I'm all this kid's got. And I've already missed 6 years of her life. I feel like I owe it to her, and to Elaine."

Gus knew Shawn was serious about this. He could tell when his best friend was serious about something because the bright spark in his eyes went away, and it didn't happen very often. The last time Shawn had been serious was when his parents got their divorce.

"I'll do anything I can to help," Gus said. The spark went back into Shawn's eyes.

"Great!" Shawn said, clapping his hands together. "Then you can help me tell my dad. Let's go!"

Gus rolled his eyes and followed Shawn to the Psychmobile.

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"Rosie," the little girl sitting alone on her bed turned at the sound of her name. It was Mrs. Hawthorne.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I have some good news sweetheart," She sat down beside Rosie. "We found your Daddy."

Rosie's face immediately brightened.

"Wheyaw is he? Does he want me? When can I go see him? Am I gonna live wit' him?" She asked in one breath.

"Slow down, hun," Mrs. Hawthorne chuckled "I think that's more than you've said since you arrived here!"

Rosie blushed.

"On Thursday afternoon, I'm gonna send you to Santa Barbara to stay with him."

"You mean I'm weally gonna meet him?"

"Yep, and he'll be waiting at the airport when you get there." Mrs. Hawthorne began explaining all the details about what was going to happen, but Rosie wasn't really listening. She had a nasty habit of zoning out when other people talked, especially when something much, much bigger was on her mind.

All of her fantasies about her father were coming true (although she wished the circumstances that she was going to live with him were different)

Thursday couldn't come fast enough.

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"Hello Grandpa!" Shawn yelled over his Dad's weed-eater. Henry quickly turned it off.

"What?"

"Congratulations, Dad, you are now a grandpa!"

"What's he talking about?" Henry asked Gus.

"I have a kid, Dad." Henry's jaw dropped clear to the ground.

"You're joking." Henry said.

"No, Dad, I'm actually telling you the truth, believe it or not."

"W-w-w-how?"

"Well, when a man and a woman really love each other-"

"Shawn!" Gus and Henry both snapped.

"Ok, ok. Do you remember Elaine Carter?"

"Yeah--cute girl, lived just down the street--Shawn, you didn't!" Henry said, his eyes growing large.

"Mr. Spencer," Gus interrupted "I think what we should be focusing on right now is the fact that in about a week we're going to have a little 6-year-old girl on our hands."

"Gus is right" Shawn said, happy that Gus had cut in. Henry sighed.

"You can't seriously be thinking about taking care of this kid!"

"Dad-"

"This is not up for discussion, Shawn," Henry interrupted "You and I both know that there is no way in hell you are ready to take on this kind of responsibility."

"Probably not, but I want to try."

"Shawn-"

"Look, Dad, I didn't come here to argue," Shawn said, frustrated. "I came to ask for your help."

Henry didn't say anything for a long time.

"Ok, Shawn, I'll help you as much as I can," He said. "but I have a few conditions"

"Here we go"Shawn said

"First, I want you to get rid of that two-wheeled death trapyou can't cart a kid around on that thing."

Shawn rolled his eyes.

"Second, since this kid is my granddaughter, I want you to come over more often so I can spend time with the both of you."

Shawn thought for a minute.

"I'm not getting rid of the cycle."

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A/N- I appreciate the reviews I got last time so please keep it up!

I was trying to make Rosie sound young so thats the reason for th "wheyaw" and stuff like that.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next week, Henry, Gus, Juliet, and even Lassiter helped Shawn prepare for Rosie to come. Jules had been excited when Shawn told her. She started planning everything the minute Shawn told her. Rosie's room, her clothes, and everything in between. Lassie didn't like the thought of another 'Little Shawn' running around, but Juliet dragged him along for the ride.

Shawn called his mother to tell her the news. She was absolutely thrilled and promised she would get there as soon as she could.

By Wednesday, Rosie's room was finished. They took one of the rooms in Shawn's apartment that he had been using for storage and turned it into the perfect bedroom for a six-year-old. The only helpful tips that Mrs. Hawthorne had told them was that she hated pink, loved to draw, loved movies, and taught herself how to play the piano, so they went with an entertainment theme with absolutely no pink. Shawn put up some of his old band posters and some movie posters, too.

Wednesday night, Juliet took Shawn grocery shopping. She filled their cart with milk, a pineapple (courtesy of Shawn) and pretty much anything else she could think of for a kid.

When they got back, Shawn invited Juliet up to his apartment.

"Shawn?"

"Yeah," He said, putting the two gallons of milk in the refrigerator.

"Nobody has really asked how this is affecting you…" Shawn just shrugged his shoulders.

"Come on, Shawn, we both know you haven't really been yourself since you found out."

Shawn sighed.

"Well Jules," Shawn said "All I can think about is that kid. I can't help but think I'm gonna ruin her life or not give her the love she needs or not be able to protect her and frankly, that scares the hell out of me." Juliet put her hand on Shawn's shoulder.

"I know you will love that little girl more than enough, I have absolutely no doubt."

"How do you know?" Shawn said, looking into her eyes.

"Well, just the fact that you are worried is a sure sign."

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Rosie couldn't sleep.

She was going to be with her actual father tomorrow. She was actually going to meet him. She'd been waiting for this all her life.

Although, she had imagined it differently.

She'd imagined that he was going to come and find her and her mother and rescue them from Ricky and their life in Seattle.

A tear trickled down Rosie's cheek. Her mother. She missed her so much. She hated Ricky. Even more than when he would hit her.

She didn't want to think about it anymore, so she turned over and closed her eyes, dreaming of what was going to happen tomorrow.

A/N---Hope you liked it, kinda short--sorry. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

-1"Stop pacing, Shawn," Gus broke the silence "You're making me nervous!"

It was true. Shawn hadn't stopped pacing since he'd gotten to the airport. He'd never been so nervous in his life. But, he did what his friend had suggested and sat down.

Henry, Gus, Juliet, and even Lassiter had come to the airport with him for moral support. Suddenly, a voice came over the intercom.

"Flight number 23 from Seattle has just arrived," Shawn's heart skipped a beat. He stood up and started pacing again. Everyone was watching the gate now, waiting.

Finally, when the mad rush of people de-boarding the plane had died down, there was one small little girl with Shawn's hair and eyes standing there with a small suitcase and a backpack. The little girl turned in their direction and Shawn's brown eyes met hers. His heart skipped a beat.

"Um, Hi," Shawn said as he made his way towards her, trying to crack his warmest smile. He bent down, so she was at eye level "I bet you're Rosie." He'd been thinking of things to say to her ever since he found out she existed and that's all he could think to say. Figured.

The little girl nodded.

"and I bet you're my daddy," Rosie smiled shyly. Shawn smiled back.

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Everyone seemed to hit it off pretty well. Gus and Juliet were even more excited than they had been before, if that was even possible. Even Lassiter fell in love with the charming little girl. Even though Henry would never admit it, he was developing a soft spot for her.

When everyone had gone, the silence was unbearable.

"Um…are you hungry? I have some pineapples in the kitchen." Shawn finally said.

"No thank you"

More silence……

"I'm kinda tired." Rosie confessed

"Um…Ok--I'll show were you'll be sleeping." Shawn took her luggage and led her to her new room. When she saw her new room, Rosie jaw dropped to the ground.

"Wow--" She said, wide-eyed. Shawn shot her a sideways grin as he put her suitcase and book bag on her bed.

"Do you like it?"

"Do I like it!?" she exclaimed.

"I asked you first-" Shawn said still grinning.

"It's amazing…Thank you," She hugged his waist (That's how far she came up to him.)

Then, all of a sudden, there was a feeling deep in Shawn's gut. A feeling he'd never felt before. He wanted that feeling to be there forever.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Rosie unzipped her suitcase and pulled out an envelope. "Mrs. Hawthorne told me to give this to you." She handed Shawn the envelope and he stuck it in his back pocket, _'Probably some legal mumbo jumbo, I'll look at it later.'_

"Alright, let's get you tucked in." He made sure she was nice and cozy, flipped of the light and was turning to leave, but was interrupted.

"Could I um…get a kiss goodnight?"

Shawn smiled and kissed her forehead and left the room, that feeling stronger than ever.

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Shawn decided he'd open the letter, maybe it was actually important, and there's no time like the present, right?

He unfolded the paper and a few pictures fell out. They were baby pictures of Rosie. One was taken on the day she was born and the other was a very cute picture of her as a toddler blowing on a dandelion. He began to read the letter:

_Dear Shawn,_

_If you're reading this, something has happened to me. You know about Rosie. I'm so sorry. I totally screwed up. It's my fault you don't know your own daughter. I was selfish, I guess. I thought you'd be better off without me and the baby. I didn't want to keep you from your travels. You needed to go and you didn't need a girlfriend and baby to drag along behind you. But, in hindsight, it was probably one of the stupidest decisions I've ever made. I just want you to know I never meant to keep her from you. And I've done so many stupid things and made so many stupid decisions. You probably hate me right now. I don't blame you, hell, I hate myself._

_But, I had my Rosie. She is everything to me. And Shawn, she is you---up, down and inside out. Everything about her reminded me of you, especially her smile. God, that smile made my heart do back-flips. She was the bright spot in my life, Shawn, and now she can be the bright spot in yours. _

_Just promise me that you'll take good care of my baby and make sure that she always knows that her mother loved her more than anything in this world. _

_I know you'll be the best father a kid could ask for. There is no doubt in my mind about that._

_Love,_

_Elaine_

_Ps- I never stopped loving you._

A teardrop fell onto the paper. Shawn wiped his eyes.

"Why are you crying?" He jumped. Rosie stood behind him, teddy bear in hand.

"Oh, nothing, just something in my eye." Shawn said wiping his eyes again. "What are you doing out of bed, kiddo?"

"I couldn't get to sleep." She said, yawning.

"Well, come sit on the couch with me and we'll watch some TV until you fall asleep."

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Gus knocked on the door of 682 E. Washington Ave. and got no answer. So, he let himself in to go get Shawn for work and to check on his new 'niece'.

He made his way into the living room and saw Shawn and Rosie asleep on the couch. Rosie's head was resting on Shawn's chest and his arms were holding her close. Gus cursed himself for not having his camera and pulled the blanket up higher on them.

This was going to be Ok.

A/N--- OK! Whaddya think? Um…I'm gonna end on this note…BUT there will be other parts to this saga. Probably MANY parts if you guys like it enough.

SOOO--- Review and let me know what you think about this story and whether or not you think I should continue and have other parts. THANKS!

BTW---That is Shawn's real address. I looked it up on USA website.


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